An Invigorating Festival

[Guest guest]

I went to the ISKCON farm in Hungary for the Janmastami celebration.

I was there even before the festival, with congregational members and the

devotees, for several days of seminars and swimming — hot weather.

 

All glories to Radha-Shyamasundara, Govardhana-lal and

Gaura-nataraja, the presiding Deities at the Hungarian farm! Their

Janmastami festival was one of the best I’ve attended.

 

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami and B.B. Puri Swami installed

Mahadeva-Gopesvara in an outdoor shrine in front of the main temple.

Sivarama Swami quoted a statement by Srila Prabhupada approving this sort of

worship. Lord Siva will be offered the Deities’ maha-praad every day, and he

will protect the dhama and bless the devotees before they enter the temple.

 

On Janmastami, Sri Sri Radha-Shyama were dressed as dancing male and

female peacocks, and the art department provided six figures of gopis for

the altar. And then, for Vyasa-puja, the artists transformed Srila

Prabhupada’s vyasasana into the prow of the good ship ISKCON.

 

Tamal Krishna Goswami spoke on both occasions, and for Vyasa-puja

delivered a clever talk based on a literary technique used by Srila

Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur: showing how negative statements can actually be

glorification. Tamal Krishna Maharaja described how Srila Prabhupada *did

not* possess the twenty-six qualities of a devotee: he was not merciful, not

peaceful, and so on.

 

The “Hungarian symphony orchestra” performed bhajans every night,

playing violins, flutes, and other instruments, “conducted” by Sivarama

Swami, who played harmonium and sang. Several musicians from England also

took part; Gaurangi's sweet voice led the chanting of "Radhe-Syama,

Radhe-Syama, patita-pavana, Radhe Syama."

 

On Janmastami, the kirtan during the greeting of the Deities took on

the flavor of a rally at a national political convention when suddenly a

dozen oval signs mounted on sticks appeared in the temple room and devotees

began waving them. The art department had made yellow signs saying “Radhe”

and blue signs saying “Shyama,” and the ladies waved Radhe’s signs, and the

men waved Shyama’s. Madness!

 

The second volume in a series of books about the Tenth Canto, by

Sivarama Swami, was released on Janmastami.

 

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